Travel News: May 15, 2018

The Aloha State is accustomed to drawing attention for its natural beauty, but in the past few weeks, it is natural disasters that have brought widespread notoriety. First came the floods on Kauai. Now, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes on the Big Island have attracted worldwide attention.

On May 3, the active volcano Kilauea erupted, sending giant plumes of orange-pink smoke billowing into the sky. There have been several earthquakes, including the strongest on the island in 43 years (a magnitude 6.9), and fissures have opened in the far eastern portion of the island, prompting the evacuation of the Leilani Estates neighborhood.

Travelers planning to fly with Brussels Airlines on May 14 and 16 should be prepared for delays and cancellations as pilots plan to strike due to a dispute over pay and conditions.

The official Twitter account of Brussels Airlines revealed Wednesday the pilot union voted to go on strike, forcing the carrier to cancel part of its flight schedule next week. The company is offering impacted customers free rebooking to a later date or a full refund of the ticket price.

New Zealand has confirmed that it wants to implement a tourist levy and said it could be implemented as early as next year.

Speaking at a tourism conference in Dunedin last week, the tourism minister, Kelvin Davis, told the media to expect a formal announcement within weeks. It follows his party’s 2017 election promise to introduce a NZ$25 (US$17) tourism charge for international visitors.

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By: Matt Long

Matt has a true passion for travel. As someone who has a bad case of the travel bug, Matt travels the world in order to share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer.
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